June 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Housing Secretary Steven Preston, in his first speech since being confirmed, called on lenders to be ``aggressive'' in helping to stem foreclosures, saying much of the subprime crisis ``is still in front of us.''

``We're going to see a lot of resets coming our way over the next year,'' Preston, who was sworn in last week as head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said today at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in Washington.

Preston urged the industry to be ``aggressive'' in working to help people keep their homes. ``In the absence of that, we might see Congress legislating very well-intended solutions which may have unintended consequences,'' he said.

With his comments today, Preston adds to the chorus of Washington policy makers pressing the industry to step up efforts to curb record foreclosures amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair have urged companies to cut loan balances to reduce the burden on borrowers.

Legislation advancing in Congress would create a program at HUD's Federal Housing Administration to insure as much as $300 billion in refinanced mortgages after lenders cut principal.

Foreclosure filings increased 65 percent in April from a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based seller of default data.

`Hopeful Signs'

``We do see some hopeful signs on the horizon,'' Preston said, citing Bernanke's comments in a June 9 speech that the risk of a deeper downturn has diminished and the economy should improve later this year. ``Obviously, there are no guarantees,'' Preston said.

As HUD secretary, Preston is charged with leading the Bush administration's response to the housing crisis. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on June 4 and President George W. Bush swore him into office on June 6.

Preston, 47, had been head of the Small Business Administration since July 2006. Before that, he was executive vice president of ServiceMaster Co., which offers landscape air conditioning services. Earlier in his career, Preston worked as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at avekshin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 12, 2008 12:01 EDT